Morning Star
by xXCookieCrumbsXx
Summary: Post Breaking Dawn, it's been nearly a year since Bella's...vampireazation. After a grueling year of college, Bella, Edward, and Renesmee return to Forks, back home. But now, the treaty's been broken. What will they do to keep Renesmee safe?
1. Preface and Chapter 1:: Gold

Preface

I never thought that my life would include such a death. I knew I would have to see my human friends die, while I lived on, but I never expected to see one that was immortal have the life snuffed out of.

When one that you are fond of is gone forever, you feel hurt, you feel pain, but you feel what you never thought to: anger. No matter how much they wished not to, no matter how much they did not choose to, they have abandoned you in your greatest time of need.

They may have died in honor, in sacrifice, yet their death has stuck a heavy blow, and they have left you there, to continue on, without his leadership and guidance.

I look in the eyes of his brothers, his sons, and it is misery beyond what is possible to feel without losing someone so close to you yourself.

He has left, leaving his role in the hands of one of his family and they have no choice but to subtly acknowledge his death, and continue on, leading his family as though nothing had happened.

And the one that has had leadership thrust upon them is one of the closest to me in my existence.

If a battle is won, but you lose a close one, is that a true victory?

Chapter 1

_Gold. _My eyes were _gold. _Obviously, a cramped airplane restroom wasn't the best place to figure that out, but hey, you can't have everything in life. Or existence in my case.

Finally, after almost a year of being a vampire, my eyes matched Edward's. They had been red almost until February, which was the worst, because I had to wear brown contacts as to not startle people with my crimson irises. Then, as Carlisle promised, they turned amber from hunting animal blood rather than human blood. Finally, my eyes were gold.

Satisfied, I slipped out of the airplane restroom, and walked down the aisle to sit next to Edward and Renesmee. Edward grinned up at me as I sat down. "I thought vampires didn't need to use the restroom, Mrs. Cullen."

I shuddered. Even as his wife for almost a year, it still creeped me out when he called me "Mrs. Cullen". He chuckled at my expression. "So what took so long, anyways?"

Uh… "I was just amazed that my eyes were gold now." I mumbled. "I'm glad."

Still smiling, he murmured, "You were always beautiful, even with red eyes. But I'm glad you have gold eyes now. It makes you look even better."

Renesmee reached over and touched my cheek, flooding my vision with the scene that just happened. There was happiness colored in. "I'm glad you like it, too." I whispered.

Renesmee was only 9 months old, but because of her super-speed growth rate that was slowing down everyday, she appeared to be an average eight-year-old girl. Intellectually, though, she was so much smarter than an average eight-year-old girl. She could talk, read, and do probably anything else as well as a normal adult. But there was something else, special even vampire-wise. Through physical contact, she could put images of her memories in your mind, which she preferred as communication rather than talking.

She grinned at me, and replayed my expression when Edward had called me "Mrs. Cullen." Edward chuckled as he saw the images through reading her mind. "But you are, officially, Mrs. Cullen, and nothing you do can ever change that, not even if you, er, if your existence ends. From the moment you said 'I do', you were Bella Cullen forever." He smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes, but, in truth, I was glad that we were married. He was _mine_ now. Mine and nobody else's. I sighed happily, and closed my eyes. I wouldn't sleep, or rather, I couldn't sleep, as a vampire, but I didn't want Renesmee to stay awake until we touched down in Seattle, now matter how eager she was to see Jacob. I ground my teeth, still slightly annoyed that Jacob had imprinted on my daughter.

I expressed my annoyance to Edward nonverbally, by removing the shield that protected my mind from anything that could get into my head, so Edward could hear my thoughts. It was easier now, to control my shield, after a year of practice in my free time while going to Dartmouth. By now, I could easily push my shield out to include others, that it was almost instinct that whenever we were in danger, I would silently push my shield out, like a balloon, so that Edward and Renesmee were protected by any unwanted interference in our minds. I could also simply lift the shield out of my head, to allow this "interference" from entering my mind, but I only did this on the occasion that I _wanted_ Edward to hear my thoughts.

Edward sighed, obviously irritated as well. He and Jacob's relationship was edgy when I was human, Edward afraid that Jacob would hurt me and vice versa, but he allowed Renesmee and Jacob's relationship live, because he knew that he owed Jacob.

Renesmee was already sleeping. I stroked her bronze curls gently before looking at Edward again. "How do you think Charlie will react to her growth spurt?" I whispered worriedly. The last time my father had seen Renesmee, before we left for New Hampshire, she was physically three years old.

Edward rubbed my arm soothingly. "I'm sure he'll consider it one of her… special things." he reassured me. "By now, it should take a lot to surprise him."

I nodded, sighing. "Still, I hope he doesn't have a heart attack or anything." Edward rolled his eyes at my concern, but he didn't push it. I knew he was anxious to see that his family was well, after a year. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, the wolves. I wondered how things were going in Forks, as well.

We were silent the rest of the way, but we were probably both as fidgety as Renesmee by the time we touched down in Seattle.


	2. Chapter 2:: Forks

Chapter 2- Forks

Renesmee's eyes flashed open the moment the plane doors opened. She jumped up the next second, eagerly tugging on Edward's shirt, obviously wanting to get off the plane. Edward chuckled and took her hand as we inched our way into the airport.

It only took me half a second to spot a familiar, short, spiky-haired, vampire among the bustling humans in the airport. The next second, Renesmee's hand was gone from mine, and Jacob, who I didn't notice yet, had her in his arms.

Edward hissed at Jacob, baring his teeth. "Can't you have the _slightest_ bit of patience, dog? She's still our daughter."

Jacob rolled his eyes, otherwise ignoring him. "You've grown so much since I last saw you." He whispered to Renesmee. "I've missed you." He hugged her to his chest.

I sighed, turning my attention to Alice. "How could you drive all the way over here, alone with him?"

"I have no idea. It was torture." She flashed a grin at me. "C'mon, if you want to get home before we all wither and die, we'd better get going." She half-walked, half-danced towards the exit. Edward and I followed, eager to not attract attention. Jacob let Renesmee down, and took her hand. Edward sighed again with irritation.

When we got to the parking lot, Alice's shiny yellow Porsche stood out among the rest. "Since when does Carlisle let you drive your Porsche to Seattle?" I asked, frowning.

Alice shrugged. "Since he told me I could to come get you from the airport. Any questions?" She slid into the driver's seat. "Be careful not to break anything."

Edward grimaced as he sat in the back. "Is this the first time you've driven it since I bought it for you?"

Alice snorted. "You know I can't drive it around Forks. Everybody who's able to will have a heart attack. Plus, the newness helps keep the dog's smell away." She wrinkled her nose. "It was almost impossible to stand the entire trip here."

Jacob didn't seem abashed. He was too wrapped up in buckling Renesmee in the back seat, between him and Edward. I smirked. I only knew too well how Jacob smelled, now that I had vampire-level senses.

"Alice, I think we should tell Charlie we've come home first. Bella told him when we would be home. He'll probably be expecting us." Edward said from the backseat. His voice was nervous, though, as though he was thinking about how much Renesmee had grown since the beginning of the school year.

Alice sighed in exasperation. "What do I look like to you, a taxi?" she muttered under her breath, and Edward chuckled.

--X--

"Hey!" Jacob complained when we finally stopped in front of Charlie's house. The second we had stopped, Edward had unbuckled Renesmee and pulled her out of the car in one swift movement.

Edward snorted. "If you could stand being away from her for one school year, then I'm sure you can live ten minutes." He muttered as he slammed the door in Jacob's face. He didn't mention that Jacob had flown to New Hampshire every holiday and he and Renesmee had talked on the phone for at least half an hour every day.

I took Renesmee's hand as we walked to Charlie's doorstep and braced myself as Edward rang the doorbell.

Charlie was at the door within three seconds. "Bella! Nessie!" he pulled us into a fierce hug, and cleared his throat. "Edward." And pulled him into a slightly more awkward hug. He seemed unbothered by Edward's and my cold, hard skin.

Charlie tousled Renesmee's hair. "Hey, kiddo. You seem to have grown a lot." He grinned at us. "What have you been feeding her?" he joked. _Blood. But don't worry- it's animal blood, not human!_ I thought sarcastically. He seemed to put "Super-speed growth" under the "super special" things about Renesmee.

Edward laughed weakly. "How have _you _been doing, Charlie?" he asked, flawlessly polite. So Edward.

Charlie shrugged. "Nothing much." He reached down and hugged Renesmee again. "College should be a lot more interesting, than old Forks, eh?" he chuckled to himself.

Edward nodded. "Bella seems to like it a lot. We've been doing very well with our studies." He flashed a grin at me. _One semester of college wouldn't kill you. _The memory made me smirk. Of all the ways you could kill a vampire, I'm sure college would be pretty low on the list.

HONK! The sudden sound made Charlie jump. I glanced toward the car to see Jacob leaning over poor Alice to honk the horn impatiently. Edward snarled under is breath, too low for Charlie to hear.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Jacob seems to want to get somewhere." He commented.

"Don't mind him." I muttered.

"Naw, you should get going. I'm sure Carlisle and Esme and the rest will want to see you, too. You can come see me any other time." He patted Renesmee's head before hugging us again. He waved as we walked back to the yellow Porsche.

"Jacob…" Edward hissed under his breath as he buckled Renesmee in. He began muttering threats under his breath. I laughed.

I grinned at Alice, who was gnashing her teeth as she drove away. "If that dog does that again…" she trailed off, not even bothering to finish the threat. She turned slightly to glare at Jacob. Hmm, what was wrong with him today?

When we reached home, I got out of the car hurriedly, eager to be reunited with my family.


	3. Chapter 3:: Family Reunion

Chapter 3- Family Reunion

When we walked through the front door, the torrent of "Edward!"s and "Bella!"s and "Nessie!"s came. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were the first ones to reach us, then Jacob's pack buddies, Seth, Leah, Quil, and Embry.

"Nice to have you back." Carlisle said.

"Edward, Bella, Renesmee, I'm so glad to see you!" Esme sang.

"Hi, you guys." Jasper's quiet voice murmured.

"Nessie!" Rosalie cooed, swinging Renesmee into her arms. In my peripheral vision, I saw Jacob tense.

"Edward!" Emmett grinned at us. "It's been so quiet without you. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to think around here." He joked, ducking Edward's playful punch.

"Hey, Edward!" Seth crowed, slapping him a high-five "Nice to see you again. It's been a while since I've seen any of you."

The rest of the pack was a bit more wary of us than Seth, who seemed perfectly at ease being in close proximity with all of us vampires. Leah, his sister, narrowed her eyes, probably remembering when I accidentally hurt Seth last fall.

It was great to be back, though, even though Jasper always hovered unnecessarily close to me, worried that my newborn instincts would take over and I would kill Renesmee or one of the wolves. Rosalie and Jacob were always the ones playing with Renesmee, Jacob because he couldn't bear to be without her, and Rosalie… she had always wanted a child of her own, so I didn't deprive her of the privilege of playing with my daughter.

Edward and I sat together on the couch, hand in hand, telling our family about New Hampshire and how our studies were going, and they filled us in on the latest news from Forks. Everything was pretty normal, at least vampire-normal. Since none of them went to school, and none of them wanted to go to college (for the what, fifth time?), they studied pretty much what they wanted at home. No wonder vampires were always so smart all the time. I had quite a bit to catch up on.

When the sun had set, Edward picked up Renesmee, who had fallen asleep on the floor, and we walked, human pace, to our cottage. It only took me a few seconds to know who was following us, wolf form, as we neared our home. Jacob. Obviously. He tagged along about fifty yards away, not even bothering to sneak, probably knowing sneaking wouldn't help much, anyway.

Our cottage was exactly as we left it last fall, but there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen anywhere. Huh. Alice or Esme must have made it a hobby to make sure our cottage was absolutely spotless 24/7. Edward gently tucked Renesmee in the bed in her room, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when Jacob curled at the foot of her bed, almost like any normal family dog. If normal dogs were as big as horses.

In the living room, Edward sat down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap. I sat there for a while, enjoying the moment; we were finally home. He buried his face in my hair, while his gentle fingers played with loose strands.

I'm not sure how long we sat there, simply enjoying each other's company; time goes all weird when you're a vampire. But eventually, then sun began to rise, and I knew it wouldn't be too long before Renesmee and Jacob woke up. I sighed, reluctantly pulling myself out of his arms. Edward sighed as well, following me through our bedroom and into our massive closet.

It was all Alice's fault, of course. Who else? When she and Esme had rebuilt our cottage, she had insisted on building us a closet bigger than our room. Ugh. I quickly changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt, smirking to myself. I could see Alice's irritated look at how I used my closet.

Edward's lips brushed against my cheek. "Would you like to cook breakfast or should I?" He whispered.

"I will, don't worry." I said, and he disappeared into Renesmee's room. I thought it was pretty ironic, cooking for my daughter when I didn't eat human food myself. I could hear Edward's soft murmur to wake Renesmee in the next room.

"Wake up, Nessie," Edward whispered. There was a pause, where Renesmee was most likely saying something to him nonverbally. To which Edward, sounding a bit annoyed, replied, "No, he's right here. He was here the entire night." Of course. Naturally, Renesmee would ask about Jacob first thing when she wakes up.

Then came Jacob's husky voice. When did he phase back human? "Wow, your floor is hard." He grumbled.

"Maybe I'll get you a rug." Edward muttered sarcastically.

Renesmee and Edward, followed by Jacob, came into the kitchen. When Renesmee and Jacob dug into their breakfast, I sat next to Edward on the counter, watching them.

Edward sighed. "It's so strange, how she's only a year old and she already has a boyfriend. If you and I hadn't happened, I would have thought such a strong bond between such young ones would be impossible."

I nodded in agreement. This must have been how Charlie felt, when I first introduced Edward as my boyfriend. I chuckled at the memory. I removed my mental shield for a moment, allowing Edward to relive the moment as well. Charlie had been so surprised when I'd told him I had a boyfriend, stating that Edward was much too old for me, to which I countered that we were both juniors. Charlie didn't know how right he was that Edward was way older than I am: almost 100 years older.

Beside me, Edward laughed quietly. "But I'm never too old for you, no matter how much older I am than you are." He breathed in my ear.

But the relationship between Renesmee and Jacob was just too early. It might have been my mother hormones, but it just didn't seem right. If I could so easily see Edward and me together, why was it so hard for me to imagine Renesmee and Jacob together?


	4. Chapter 4:: Hunting Trip

Chapter 4- Hunting Trip

"Are you ready to go?" Carlisle asked us. My throat burned in response. Duh, we were all thirsty. But there was something that made me hesitate….

"Renesmee…" I murmured. I was afraid to leave her alone. Not alone, entirely, she'd be with Jacob, Seth, Leah, Quil, and Embry, while the vampires hunted.

"Don't worry." Edward reassured me. Jacob and the others won't let anything happen to her."

I sighed and nodded reluctantly, following the others out to hunt. I'd never been hunting with the entire family before. In fact, I'd only ever been hunting with Edward and Renesmee. A burning curiosity to see how the others hunted, as was as the burning in my throat, pulled me into the forest.

I went as quickly as I could so I could have plenty of time to observe the others. After my second deer, the fire in my throat burning only dully, I sat in a tree to watch the others hunt themselves.

As always, I allowed my gaze to linger on Edward for a moment. His movements were so graceful, like a cat's, and he hunted neatly, not a hair out of place when he was done. That's what a century of practice could do for you.

I saw Carlisle, who hunted in a businesslike fashion, as though doing this was simply something you had to do, although he was not fond of it; like humans going to the restroom. He hunted as neatly as Edward, but his movements had a bit of reluctance, as if he didn't want to kill, not even if it was an animal.

I saw Emmett next, and it was, like Edward had said once, like a bear attack. I watched as he brought down a buck easily, not bothering to keep out of the way of the animal's feeble attempts to shake him off.

Esme hunting was something that was awfully hard to watch. The motherly vampire was probably ashamed that this was something she had to do on a regular basis, but that was the price paid for becoming a vampire.

Rosalie looked beautiful and graceful, even when hunting. She used stealth, rather than strength or speed, to hunt the animals. Sneaking up on them, she took them down easily, so that they had no time to fight back.

When I spotted Alice, I felt a little twinge of anxiety. She was so small, so fragile-looking. The fear evaporated when she began drinking from a deer that was possibly twice her size.

Jasper, the newest to this lifestyle next to me, seemed a bit hesitant when hunting, probably because he used to hunt humans instead of animals a few decades back. But, he was probably glad that he could be around humans, and not have to migrate from place to place.

"What do you think?" Edward's breath tickled my ear. I had heard him climbing up and joining me, but I was too absorbed in watching them to pay too much attention.

"Incredible." I whispered back. There was something bothering me, but I didn't want to ask… "Edward, what do _I _look like when I hunt?" Part of me didn't want to know, in case I looked like an idiot while doing my business.

Edward rolled his honey-gold eyes, hearing the anxiety in my voice. "Beautiful, of course. Even graceful, for a newborn." Then, he chuckled, probably remembering my first hunt. I had completely ravaged my clothes when I wrestled with a mountain lion. I grinned, remembering.

The others had finished now, and we hopped out of the tree, landing easily on the soft forest floor. Edward and I raced back home. The speed was one of the things that exhilarated me. When I was human, I remember being afraid of it, but it seems that the love of speed came with vampirazation.

But nothing prepared me for the scene when I ran onto the lawn with Edward.

There was Renesmee, and Jacob and his pack in wolf form, facing three other werewolves from Sam's pack.

They had come to fight us. This was exactly what I was afraid of.


	5. Chapter 5:: End of Discussion

Chapter 5- End of Discussion

For a second, it was completely silent and still. Then, Edward shot forward, baring his teeth, a snarl tearing out of his chest. In a fraction of a second, he was in front of Renesmee, glaring at the opposing werewolves, not even glancing up as the others caught up, who stared in shock at the scene.

Realizing they were greatly outnumbered, the front most wolf, apparently the leader of their little group, began to back away slowly, not taking his gaze off of Edward, growling threateningly. The other two, a wiry gray one and a burly brown one, followed not turning around until they were out of sight. Nobody moved for a second, then, cautiously, hesitantly, I approached the assembled werewolves and Edward.

I touched his shoulder lightly, wondering what could have the enemy wolves been thinking to make him react so violently. He didn't look up, but he was breathing heavily, as though to calm himself. Slowly, he looked up, staring at me. He took in my expression and straightened from his defensive crouch, glancing up at Jacob, and then the others.

In a low murmur, he explained, "They came for Renesmee. To destroy her. To destroy the ones protecting her." He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense, Bella. If we're at peace with Sam at the moment, why would he abruptly change his mind like that?"

I bent down and picked up Renesmee, the fear finally beginning to sink in. Sam's pack now had eleven wolves, now that we had five of the original pack. Plus, we had eight vampires on our side. Eleven versus thirteen. If this led to a war, we might be able to overtake them, but what would be the cost to protect Renesmee? Would we lose some of our family, which now included Jacob's pack? Would Jacob and his pack be able to turn on his former brothers? Plus, I had never been in a fight before, and my shield wouldn't be able to help against physical attack.

"Carlisle." Jasper's voice interrupted my frightened thoughts. I looked up to see the others talking to Carlisle about what just happened and what we were going to do. "We can't just sit here, the treaty's been broken. The wolves came on our territory, threatening a fight." He insisted.

Carlisle shook his head. "We can't afford to go to war with the werewolves, especially if we don't know the whole story. Jacob?" Carlisle turned to look at Jacob, who was now back in his human form.

Jacob's eyes narrowed. "We were in the house, just minding our business. Then, Embry, he was running patrol, howled and ran all the way back here to warn us that there were wolves coming. We phased, and - what do you know - there were three wolves, growling at us and - being the idiots they are - told us that they were here to destroy "The Unnatural Child", no matter what it takes. But then, you guys came back and they backed off." At the end, he held out his arms, obviously wanting to hold Renesmee. I sighed and passed her into his arms.

Carlisle frowned. "Told you? I thought they were in wolf form."

"It was pretty clear from their body language." Jacob winced, and Edward chuckled darkly.

"Hm. So they were obviously being violent, but are you sure Renesmee was their target?" Carlisle murmured, half to himself. He sighed, and said more intelligibly, "But there was no harm done I might want to speak with Sam about this." Peace making, as always, this was obviously the end of discussion.

We all nodded, but Jasper looked disappointed, as though we were looking for a reason to fight the werewolves. Edward's mouth was mashed into a thin line, which confirmed my theory. For a second, we were all still, unsure of what to do now. But then, Emmett, who wasn't ever affected by the serious atmosphere, broke into a huge grin.

"Up for another arm wrestle, Bella?" he smirked knowingly and ran off into the forest.

I rolled my eyes, but followed him, Edward close behind.

I approached the designated arm-wrestling boulder and took my place next across from Emmett. I gripped his hand tightly, allowing him to stain and push against it with all his might before smashing it into the boulder face.

Emmett, still grinning, dusted his jeans of all rock fragments before smirking at me. "Good game, Bella."

I rolled my eyes. "Emmett, normal people are sad when they lose." Edward chuckled, wrapping his arms around me.

Emmett's gin got bigger. "Just waiting for the day, little sister, just waiting for the day."

I knew what he meant. My newborn strength had gotten dramatically less since I'd last beat him. One of these days, I'd be left with only my vampire strength, and Emmett would be the strongest again. I'd enjoy it while I could, though.

"She's still the strongest, Emmett, don't forget that. She could still take you." Edward said mock-warningly.

I laughed. "He's right, you know, big brother." I growled playfully, and Edward let go of me, but instead of jumping on Emmett, I twisted backwards and landed on top of Edward. It felt great, being the stronger one, when I'd been so used to being the weaker.

But, being the faster one, he caught me twisting and throwing us on the ground, until we were both on the ground, laughing.

Then, I remembered Renesmee. The last time we'd left her, werewolves had come. Had they come back? I tensed with worry, and Edward, feeling my stillness, he pulled us back onto our feet, and we both ran back towards the house, Emmett following close behind, chortling to himself.


	6. Chapter 6:: Suicide?

Chapter 6- Suicide?

When we went in, the sun was beginning to set. The darkness did nothing to obscure my vision; only humans are blinded by the darkness. I still remembered how things looked from human eyes. It was as if my eyes were covered my entire life.

Renesmee, Jacob, and the wolves were busy eating, so Edward walked briskly to Carlisle's side. "Are you sure?" he murmured in a low voice.

"Positive. We don't want to go into an unnecessary war with the Sam's pack, Edward." It sounded like he was reassuring everybody, which was probably the only reason he was speaking aloud.

Edward sighed before coming to sit next to me on the sofa. Smiling wryly, I said, "You sound like Jasper. Are you looking for a fight?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm just concerned for the safety of my family." He gestured around the room at everybody. "If this _does _come to a fight, I would be ready to die for my loved ones, especially this one here." He hugged me to his chest.

"And I would follow after you." I whispered. I faltered for a second. "But what about Renesmee?"

Edward sighed. "I'm sure Jacob would never allow her to get hurt, even if we're gone."

"Let's make it simple then." I smirked to myself against his chest. "How about neither of us dies?"

"Agreed." He murmured.

I sighed happily. This was what every girl dreamed of: Being eighteen forever, with a nice happy family. I had all that and more. I was sure I didn't deserve it, but Edward always insisted that he had even more that I did now, now that I was a vampire and we were together for eternity. And that it was so much easier for him to be around me, now that he didn't have to concentrate so much on now killing me. Ironically, it was me who had to try not to hurt him now, with my newborn strength.

At this point, Renesmee had come to sit next to us. Her eyes were wide, frightened. She put one hand on my arm, and one on Edward's.

A replay of our conversation flashed before my eyes, colored with anxiety.

"Don't worry, we'll never let anything happen to you." Edward reassured her.

Renesmee frowned, shaking her head. She pressed her palms to us again, worry in there.

"Oh…" Edward realized she was scared about _us. _"Don't worry, we won't, um, let anything happen to us either." He finished awkwardly.

Renesmee sighed. She still seemed as though the thought that if one of us were killed, the other would die too, whether for suicidal reasons or not, scared her. Actually, I think the thought of vampire-suicide was even more frightening. I knew that if Edward… ceased to exist, I would follow him, no matter what. But thinking about what I was leaving behind made my head hurt a bit.

Renesmee had always been different when we had entered her in a public school in New Hampshire while we were studying at Dartmouth, her growth, for one thing. She grew at a very rapid pace; at the beginning of the year, she looked like a six year old, and by the end, she looked eight. Intellectually, she was so far advanced, that she probably wasn't learning anything anyways, but she wasn't one to show off, so she hid it, pretending to be learning along all of the other third-graders. She rarely talked at home, preferring her nonverbal communication, but she had to talk at school, but she obviously didn't like to.

Renesmee yawned quietly, staring into space. She looked at Jacob, who was watching the football game with Emmett, occasionally glancing at Renesmee as well.

Edward sighed heavily, but said nothing. I smiled, squeezing his hand lightly. This was one of the reasons I liked Edward better than Jacob. He could be mature about gooey relationships. Jacob on the other hand, was always complaining that being around my vampire boyfriend made me stink, but that was before Edward and I were married….

Edward squeezed back, grinning crookedly, guessing at my thoughts. Although my mind was private and he couldn't hear my thoughts, my expressions were pretty easy for him to read, apparently.

Renesmee's soft snores were pretty much the signal that we had to go home. Edward scooped her up into her arms, and Renesmee didn't even shiver when Edward's cold skin touched hers. She was probably used to being around really cold people.

We walked back to our cottage, Jacob in his wolf form as he tagged along at our heels, just like last night. There was now, indeed, a rug at the foot of Renesmee's bed, for Jacob. Jacob looked up at Edward, rolling his eyes. I stifled a laugh that bubbled up. The concept of wolves rolling their eyes was just downright hilarious.

I smiled a bit as I watched Renesmee sleep peacefully, with Jacob the guard dog curled up on the floor. I thought about it again. I had never learned to fight, and with my newborn strength wearing out, I wouldn't have much of an advantage if I were caught in a fight. If I were to die, this is what I would be leaving behind.

Was I so ready to give that up?


	7. Chapter 7:: Alone Time

Chapter 7- Alone time

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of her." Jacob grinned at us. "When have I not?"

He had a point there. In fact, if something did happen to Renesmee, Jacob would jump off a cliff or something. Edward nodded. "Of course, Jacob. I trust you." And he did. He seemed to have full faith that the wolves would never let anything happen to our daughter. If only he was like that with me when I was human. He had gone to the extremes when it came to keeping me away from seeing Jacob, including disabling my car. Actually, I'd broken my hand once on a visit at Jacob's house…

"Come on, Bella, it's really cool. I'm sure you'll love it." Edward was taking me somewhere to hang out, to take a break from Renesmee and Jacob and the rest of them.

"Not the meadow?" I sighed. When I was human, Edward and I always went to the meadow, and we'd just lie there for hour on end, not doing anything. It was awesome.

Edward shook his head. "Not this time. But don't worry. I'm sure it's just as good." He beamed at me and took my hand, and we ran out through the back door.

We ran together through the forest for a moment, before Edward let go of my hand. He ran, full speed at a tall pine tree. Using his speed to his advantage, he ran _up_ the tree, his fingers barely brushing against the tree trunk before disappearing.

"C'mon, love, it's not that hard." Edward's voice floated down from above my head. Taking a deep breath, I ran, as he had, towards the tree. But, rather than using my speed, I used my strength to muscle my way up and sit next to Edward on a tree limb.

I leaned against the trunk, looking out at the sunrise. "Beautiful" I murmured absently.

"But not as beautiful as you." Edward whispered. "I told you it was cool, didn't I?" He sighed and lay lengthwise on the branch, his head resting on my lap, closing his eyes.

"Mmm." I ran my fingers though his bronze hair absentmindedly. I was thinking about how to ask him something that had been bothering me for a while….

"Edward," I said finally. "Can I ask you a question?" I smiled to myself, remembering when I was human, when I had asked him a question, staring exactly the same way.

Without opening his eyes, he nodded. "Of course."

"You're glad I'm a vampire."

He opened his eyes slowly, reading my expression. "That's not a question." He said at last.

I giggled. This was exactly like what happened. I was sure Edward was remembering, too. "I was wondering why you thought that."

He looked at me for a long moment before answering. "I can love you so much more now that you're a vampire, Bella. You're so much less breakable, so less fragile. Also, it's easier to be with you, when I don't have to concentrate so much on not killing you." He closed his eyes again.

"I see." I sort of already knew that, but I wanted to be sure. I sat there for a minute, drinking in the moment, stoking Edward's hair.

"Can I ask _you _a question?" his honey-gold eyes glared accusingly up into mine.

"Sure."

"You're glad you're my wife."

I had been expecting that, but it still took me off guard. Of course I was glad, but it was pretty hard to put into words why. "That's not a question." I said, stalling for time.

"I was wondering why you thought that."

I took a deep breath before answering. "Because I belong to _you _now. You and no one else. And we're together forever; not even death can separate us."

"Hm." Edward smiled. "That's a good answer to my non-question."

I laughed. "That's a good question for your non-question." I didn't really care if that made sense or not.

Edward chuckled quietly to himself, closing his eyes again.

I sighed contentedly. Even so, I still couldn't believe that I was eighteen, physically, with a husband (the best one a girl could have), and a daughter who was already physically eight. In New Hampshire, we always told people that Renesmee was adopted, that she was Edwards's brother's child, the same story we told Charlie the first time he saw me after Renesmee was born and I became a vampire.

This was one of the moments I had in my existence, that I wished I could freeze in time and live forever. The kind that I would have no problem if anything else happened, I would still be utterly content.

The kind of moment that just couldn't last, no matter what happened.


	8. Chapter 8:: Broken Treaty

Chapter 8- Broken Treaty

I knew something was wrong. Edward tensed, and I knew that he was hearing someone's mind. A fraction of a second later, a low growl rumbled from somewhere, followed by a piercing howl.

Edward swung off, landing with a soft thump on the ground, about fifty feet below. I jumped off a second later, and took off, running as fast as I could, following him.

When we reached the clearing, Edward didn't even stop, throwing himself at the nearest werewolf. I skidded to a halt for just a second, my eyes flashing from person to person, realizing what was happening here.

Emmett and Jasper were there, along with three other werewolves. I recognized them as the wolves that had been there yesterday. And these three were on the ground, wrestling with my brothers. Instinctively, I pushed my mental shield out, before I remembered that it wouldn't help in any physical activity. Only a second had passed.

"Bella, go get the others!" Edward shouted. His voice was a low hiss. I wanted with all my might to help him, but I knew alerting Carlisle and the others would help more. I ran as fast as I could, trying not to stop as the sounds of the fight, the snarls and hisses, grew further away. I had a job to do. The lives of my family depended on it.

Alice was already out there, waiting for me. She nodded quickly and disappeared into the house, to get the others. Without stopping, I turned around and ran back towards the forest.

A snarl ripping out, I hurled myself at the nearest wolf, tearing and thrashing at every bit I could reach. Brown fur went flying, but I was careful of my clothes, as though I was hunting. It would be pretty awkward if I were naked, especially when I wasn't hunting. The teeth, the claws, had no effect on me. I was dimly aware of voices murmuring in the background, but I was seeing red, and I wanted to destroy any threat that came to my family.

Gentle, but firm hands gripped my arms suddenly, and pulled me away from the mound of brown fur. The next thing I knew, I was on my feet next to Edward, who must have pulled me off of him. I was surrounded by vampires and werewolves, three of whom were pinned down on the ground, still growling. I sank automatically into a crouch, but Edward put a hand on my shoulder, and looked anxiously into my eyes. I straitened up, observing the scene.

Seth and Alice were on the ground, crouched over the white-ish one. The same went for Rosalie and Embry, who were glaring down at the thin gray one, and Jacob, Esme, and Quil were guarding the big brown one. The rest, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Leah, Renesmee and I were standing up, surveying the scene. I quickly took Renesmee's hand.

"You even smell like them now!" Edward snarled. I jumped, but in a fraction of a second, I realized that he was simply translating the thoughts of one of the wolves.

"Well, we do our best." Edward replied dryly to himself in Jacob's husky voice. To an outsider, it must've looked hilarious, Edward talking to himself with no expression on his face except for amusement in his eyes, while the white wolf grew more and more irritated.

"Idiots." Edward muttered in the leader's annoyed voice. "We're here to protect people from vampires and you're hanging out with them! You even live in their house!" Edward spat. He slipped a grin at me. I laughed.

"Damn it." Edward muttered in the leader's voice. I frowned, confused, then I heard it and felt it at the same time: Paws running, straight at us. Sam's pack was coming. No, not Sam's pack, Sam and some representatives. There could only be four or so wolves coming.

The clearing was completely still for a second, then a high-pitched voice rang out. "It's Sam! What do we do?" the gray wolf was twitching slightly; I guessed it was him.

"Shut up!" A deeper voice came out of Edward's mouth. The big brown one glared threateningly at Edward. Edward chuckled softly.

Nobody moved. Within seconds, four wolves emerged. I recognized Sam, the black one. "Hm." Edward was translating Sam's thoughts. "I was wondering where you went. You left pretty quickly. There was no trace of you in the reservation…"

Carlisle frowned in confusion. "What do you mean, Sam? Aren't they part of your pack?"

"They were." Edward's flat voice was harsher now. "They left the pack, separated from us as Jacob had done. They disappeared, and we wondered where they were going. They were quite bitter about the child. And the wolves that were now living with the vampires." Sam explained through Edward.

"I see." Carlisle murmured quietly.

"They say that the treaty no longer holds, since that one" –Sam nodded at me-"Became a vampire. They are no longer bound by the treaty, they say." Sam's eyes narrowed.

"Because we aren't! The treaty no longer holds; they made another vampire!" the leader's voice hissed though Edward. "And the treaty's already broken, so there's nothing stopping us from attacking the blood-suckers and the traitors!" Apparently, they didn't know or were ignoring the fact that Jacob had given them permission to save my life by changing me.

"Nothing's stopping you from attacking them." Edward murmured in Sam's flat voice. "If nothing is stopping you, then there is nothing stopping any of us in this clearing from attacking you." He didn't sound any bit concerned or afraid. He sounded amused, even.

There was a tense silence as Sam's words sunk in, and the wiry gray one thrashed about in fear. There was a snarl, and a second later, Rosalie's teeth were two inches from his throat. The wolf froze in fear.

"The treaty no longer holds." Edward sighed quietly, still in Sam's voice. "Then if that's true, then there is nothing stopping Rosalie" –he nodded at her- "from tearing out this one's throat this instant."


	9. Chapter 9:: No Mercy

Chapter 9- No Mercy

Everybody was totally silent and still for two seconds. Then, the leader's defeated voice rang out. "Fine. Whatever. Do whatever you want."

Sam nodded, still looking suspicious. "Very well. We'll have to ask Billy what to do with you three, though. But you'll have to come with us back to the reservation."

Carlisle nodded as well. "Bella and Edward will escort you to the border." Sam almost looked annoyed for a second, if werewolves can look annoyed, but he nodded again.

The three wolves rolled onto their feet, the leader glaring accusingly at Jacob, but the other two seemed a bit frightened, especially the small gray one, whose eyes darted rapidly around and he was still twitching slightly.

Then, it all happened fast, even for our speed. When our guard was down, they turned tail and _ran. _Growling rumbled all around, and in probably a sixty-fourth of a second, everybody was tensed to go after them.

"No!" Carlisle and Sam's commands carried over the growling. "They know the rules now." Sam continued darkly. "They wouldn't dare come back after this. The treaty still binds them, no matter what."

Carlisle's eyes were slits. "I agree. They believe they have no boundaries, but if they are ever seen on our territory again," –he looked at everybody individually: Esme, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, Edward, me, Jacob, Seth, Leah, Quil, Embry, and even Renesmee- "You have my permission to kill. The treaty has been broken. We shall act mercilessly." His eyes were fierce. "Nothing like this should ever happen again."

Sam and his pack rumbled in agreement. "The same goes for us." And with that, he nodded at Carlisle again, and he and his pack disappeared into the forest.

We all stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then Carlisle sighed heavily. "I always hoped we never had to go to war with the wolves."

"But these renegades are different. They are refusing to make peace with us, even as we uphold our end of the treaty." Jasper argued. "They come, threatening war with us, simply because we're here!" he growled. "And because they're with us!" He gestured at Jacob and the wolves.

"Yes, but they are still wolves all the same. We could be a match for them, but think, Jasper, what would the price be for that?" Carlisle sounded pained. "The purpose of neglecting our thirst to human blood is part of conserving human life! And they are children. No more than reckless children." He looked at Jacob. "And what kind of position would that put these wolves in? Do you imagine they are ready to fight their brothers? Would you be willing to fight Edward, or Emmett, no matter how bitter towards them you were?"

Jasper sighed in defeat, not saying anything. Carlisle looked wearily at each of us. "Come on. Let's go home. We've had enough excitement for a few days." He took off in the general direction of home.

I picked up Renesmee, hugging her tightly for a moment before plopping her on Jacob's back. Jacob grinned wolfily at me and ran as well.

Edward took my hand as we ran side by side. This was all worrying me. Two wolf attacks in two days. I was fighting the urge to just grab Renesmee and Edward and run, as fast as I could, without stopping, until we reached somewhere danger-free. Antarctica, maybe.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Edward murmured in a low voice as were went inside. "Jacob and the wolves will be running patrols in shifts 24/7. You don't need to worry. I'll never let them hurt you." His gold eyes were full of concern.

I shook my head. "It's not that." I murmured. "I'm scared for Renesmee. And you. I just can't take this. I'm afraid…"

He hugged me soothingly. "There's no need to be afraid. Nothing will ever happen to her, I promise you. As for me…" he sighed. "I'm not sure what I can promise."

I spun around, forcing him to look into my eyes. "You are not to go looking for ways to get yourself killed, do you understand, Edward Cullen? Not for me, not for anyone. Understood?" My blazing eyes looked into his.

He sighed, pulling me to his chest. "I promise." he murmured gently into my ear.

"You'd better." I mumbled. "Because if you ever kill yourself, I'll kill you for the rest of your life."

He chuckled at my nonsense. "Sometimes, I can't believe I'm married to you, Isabella Cullen." He kissed my hair. "You're just so funny sometimes."

"Sometimes, I find that hard to believe, too." Jacob was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He grinned at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. His words were half-threatening, but he was smirking as though it were the funniest thing in the world.

Jacob laughed a booming laugh at my expression. "Edward just seems more the type who would be sensible enough to marry someone who had better memory, like the ability to remember that in their earlier years, they would talk in their sleep about yours truly."

He got out of there really fast right after he said that. It was too bad I wasn't fast enough to find something hard enough to throw at him.


	10. Chapter 10:: Vampire Normal

Chapter 10- Vampire-normal

The next few weeks passed quite uneventfully, which was a relief. There had been no sight of any of the three renegade wolves, and nobody on the reservation had seen them either.

There was a downside, though. A couple days after the incident, one of their mothers called Carlisle. I could hear the yelling through the phone, which Carlisle answered calmly and courteously. Yes, their child had pretty much been banished, but she should take it up with Sam. No, they were not dead. Yes, they had minor injuries, which were inflicted from self-defense. Yes, she had every right to sue him, but there wasn't enough evidence. It went on and on.

Meanwhile, Renesmee kept growing. Her growth rate was slowed down, but it was still pretty fast. Now she looked almost nine years old. Charlie came to visit nearly every day. I remembered one of the visits rather well.

"Bella, did you get color contacts?" Charlie asked. What a great time to notice my eye color change.

"Erm, no…" I answered tentatively.

"Right. But it can't just be me that noticed that your eyes are darker than usual, Bella." He said. It was pretty good if he didn't believe me. Better for him, anyways. Need to know basis. It was true, though. My eyes were pretty much black. We were planning on going hunting tonight, but at the moment, being around Charlie was pretty tough, but I could handle it.

"Gosh, I can't believe how big you've grown." He murmured to Renesmee. His eyes flickered up at Edward and me. "You, on the other hand, don't look like you've changed at all." He said shrewdly.

I felt Edward wince subtly next to me. Actually, we hadn't changed at all. I hoped Charlie didn't know how close his guess was.

Edward forced out a laugh. "We try to conserve our youth." He wasn't going to tell Charlie that he was exactly right. Charlie might pee in his pants at the very least.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"You know, I was thinking of going to the forest for a walk." I said changing the subject feebly. "You know, get some fresh air."

"Yes, that'd be great! We haven't been out too much since we came back!" Edward said over-enthusiastically. He looked relieved that we were steering the conversation away from our… vampire-ness.

I laughed to myself as we stood up. "When do you have to get home, Charlie?"

He shrugged. "Whenever, I guess."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, then. We'll only be out for an hour. Anybody else want to go out?" I called. I was sure that anybody in the house could've heard me without shouting, but I did it for Charlie's sake.

Of course, Jacob loped forward, eagerly reaching out for Renesmee. I sighed, putting her hand in his. Alice danced downstairs, and Jasper tagged along. Seth went as well.

"Quite a family, you've got here, don't you?" Charlie said conversationally to Edward.

"Sort of." He shrugged. "Jacob and his friends mostly hang out here." He answered coolly.

We could feel the warmth of the sun, but clouds covered it as it usually was in Forks. The summer was nearly halfway over, and it got super hot some days, for Forks. Mixed in with the humidity, didn't go too well for humans. Charlie was almost panting, and he gave an audible sigh of relief when we stepped into the shade.

We continued on, into the forest. I knew my way around the forest off of the paths, but for Charlie's sake, we followed the path. Jacob and Renesmee seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were holding hands, grinning at each other occasionally.

"I'm sure we weren't that mushy." I complained to Edward softly.

He laughed. "No, I think we were. Perhaps you were simply too… absorbed in our little moments to notice." He smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes. I'm pretty sure that during my human life, Edward spent most of his time restraining him and me from going too far. That didn't seem that fair to me, come to think of it. And he's letting Renesmee and Jacob go on with their happy little relationship without saying anything.

Suddenly, I heard yelling from about fifty feet away. Alice gave a little gasp from thirty feet ahead of us. Edward's head snapped up, his black eyes focusing in at Charlie, Jacob, and Renesmee and froze. I glanced up to see Jasper next to Alice, who was tensed just like everybody else.

I frowned in confusion, because at the moment, everything looked alright. But then, I realized what had happened. Renesmee had tripped and fell on the trail, skinning her knees on the sharp rocks. My Renesmee was hurt. Our daughter was hurt, and Edward wasn't going over there? What was going on?

I started forward to go help her, but stopped before I could take one step.

I smelled the blood before I could even see it.


	11. Chapter 11:: Bloodthirsty

Chapter 11- Bloodthirsty

The burn in my throat was agonizing. It was as if someone had turned a gas lighter on a million degrees in it. But worse. A thousand times worse. A trillion times worse. I had to quench my thirst.

Edward reacted the fastest. He slammed into me, throwing us both onto the ground. I rolled out from under him, running as fast as I could towards the delicious scent.

But Edward was faster.

He grabbed me by the middle and pulled me backwards, hurling us both in the dust.

But I was stronger.

I broke his grip effortlessly, jumping to my feet, running. But something else collided with me, smashed into me. A snarl escaped my lips as I realized what it was. Jasper. His eyes a flat black, he was running, as I was, to drink the blood.

He was fighting with me over my prey.

I pushed him into the ground, but while doing so, Edward grabbed me once again from behind, attempting to drag me away. But I had to drink. I had to satisfy my thirst.

I broke out of his grasp, using my newborn strength to further push me towards the thing that would save me from the throat burning madness. There was nothing to stop me, nothing in my way.

But there was.

As I slowed down to drink her blood, Renesmee looked up at me. Her eyes were scared, terrified. I'd never seen her like this before. Charlie just looked bewildered. I would probably have to kill him, too. A small girl wouldn't be enough. But it was the expression on Renesmee's face, a mixture of pain, shock, and fear, all mixed up. I couldn't destroy this, what I had created. I _wouldn't _destroy this.

I sped up again, running blindly from the scene, right passed right by the blood that smelled so _good. _All of my thoughts were screaming at me to drink it, but I knew I couldn't. I didn't want to be a monster.

I felt pursuit behind me, but I didn't stop. I was afraid that if I stopped for any reason, I'd run back and kill my daughter, and probably my father. Without knowing what I was drinking, I killed a passing animal, draining it in record time. The burn was only subtly dulled, but it was better, so much better. I sat there for a moment, putting my head between my knees, trying to block out everything until Edward caught up.

"Bella, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Edward's soft voice awoke me from my daze. I looked up, and his face was right in front of mine, is black eyes full of fear and amazement.

"I-I-I'm not sure." I whispered shakily. "I'm so sorry Edward. Did I hurt you? I-I didn't think-"

"No, Bella." Edward breathed. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He sighed heavily. "It was all my fault. I was so stupid. I should have gotten you. I didn't want you to do anything you'd regret, but I just couldn't fight against you. It'd be all my fault if-if-if…" he didn't bother to finish. "I'm so sorry Bella."

"But are you hurt? I just couldn't control my self like I usually could; I've never been exposed to human blood before. I-"

Edward shook his head, cutting me off. "Are you kidding me? I've never seen anyone of your experience that took it like that. I was terrified, seeing you run up to her like that, but you just breezed right passed her. I didn't understand what was happening." He looked in my eyes gravely. "Any other newborn of your age, as thirsty as you were, and exposed to human blood, would never have hesitated for even a fraction of a second. You handled it much better than anyone in the history of supposedly nonexistent creatures that ever lived! Much, much better than Jasper." He smiled humorlessly.

"Jasper?" Fear was beginning to seep in again. "What happened with Jasper? I just noticed he was fighting me and I pushed him down, and-" I was babbling again.

"Alice and Seth grabbed him. They took him somewhere else. Jacob was ready to defend them if he or you got too close." He eyes hardened. "If he'd injured you, I'd have ripped his liver out." He muttered in a low voice, half to himself.

"You're not hurt, then?" I repeated. He never did answer that question.

Edward shook his head. "You just… startled me. I'm not used to be taken by surprise, to losing a battle. I'm perfectly fine. But I was frightened you would be hurt, or worse." He finished softly.

"And Charlie? Renesmee?" I asked, wondering where they went.

"Jacob took them home. I think Charlie didn't know too much; it happened pretty quickly, and there was minimal noise. All he thinks is strange is that you, me, Alice, Jasper, and Seth were there a few seconds ago, but then, you weren't." Edward explained. He straightened up, pulling me along with him. "I think Jasper and Alice went hunting early today, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt if we did, too." He smiled warmly at me. "Are you ready to continue hunting?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I had been so close, so very, very close, to destroying one of my most precious things that had ever been mine. The though of it almost gave me hysterics. Or I was almost crying. Vampires don't cry like humans do. Plus, I think Edward would have a panic attack if I started to cry in front of him.

I took his hand wordlessly, and ran as fast as I could, to satisfy my thirst fully, before something else happened.


	12. Chapter 12:: Control

Chapter 12- Control

"I still can't believe how stupid I am." Edward groaned into his hands. He rubbed his eyes, pressing his palms into his eyes.

The moment we got home, Edward started confessing and scolding himself about how stupid he was to let Jasper and me get out of control. Typical Edward.

Esme sighed in exasperation. "There's nothing to worry about, Edward; nobody was hurt."

I rolled my eyes. "Edward, it was my fault. I let myself get out of control."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "Really, Edward. It's not anything anybody can control externally. The urge is just too strong."

Edward groaned quietly to himself. "That's not the point. If I hadn't been so careless-"

"Edward," I said sharply. "Quit beating yourself up. Alice was there, too and you don't see her complaining about how stupid she thinks she is."

Edward looked up, glaring briefly at me. "Maybe, but she wasn't _letting _her out-of-control vampire that was about to kill her _daughter _go ahead and do it."

Alice sighed. "Edward, you did your best. Really, it's nobody's fault. Besides, if you were able to keep her away, then the two of you would probably be dead right now."

"The main point is that nobody was hurt, especially not Charlie or Renesmee. Or Jacob or Seth." Carlisle said calmly.

I winced slightly. I was so close to injuring Jacob. Jacob was ready to stand in my way to keep Renesmee out of harm's way, but I was pretty sure, that in my bloodthirsty rampage, I wouldn't have hesitated to kill Jacob, too.

Jacob coughed loudly. "I'm sure I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"You don't know what we can do." Rosalie hissed. "Anybody in this room could kill you in half a second. You weren't even exploding out of your clothes yet. She could have killed you in your human form a hundred times more easily than in wolf form."

"Not to mention that some of us would like to kill him in half a second." Emmett muttered under his breath, earning him a dark look from Rosalie.

Renesmee had been pretty quiet during the entire conversation, but she spoke now. "Daddy, I'm not angry at you. It's impossible to control, the thirst." Her big, round, chocolate-colored eyes looked at everybody. "We all know that." She added quietly.

Jacob reached over and put her into his lap. "Except for me." He murmured softly in her ear; it was almost inaudible. It was pretty sad, if you thought about it. The thirst was pretty much the only thing that was really, truly different between them. If you ignore the wolf-morphing part.

Edward sighed quietly, but didn't say anything. I gritted my teeth. How could he be so ignorant? Thirst was just part of being a vampire, and he knew it. I gave him a hard look. "Of all the people in the world, I thought you would be so much smarter. _It doesn't freaking matter. _We're all alive, well, for the most part, and nobody was hurt. _Get over it. _Accidents happen all the time. We were lucky. Life goes on."

Edward looked at me. "That's so you, Bella. 'We were lucky.' Well, what if we aren't lucky next time?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you expecting something like this to happen again?"

"No, but it's possible."

"Possible, but unlikely! I'm becoming less of a newborn every day, and my strength is going away, too. I'll get used to the no-human-blood-at-all-no-exceptions thing, like you did, so nothing like this will ever happen again! When I was human, you were able to stand being around my exposed blood! Look at how strong you are now!" Ironically, it was me that was practically screaming my head off, and Edward was the one responding calmly.

"True, but who knows how strong you'll be? You could still be as strong as Emmett when you're not a newborn. Stronger than me. I wouldn't be able to stop you." I opened my mouth to speak, but he shook his head and continued. "And the control. It took me a century to get to the level I am now, and it's not even perfect! For Carlisle, it took two hundred years. Even Jasper is still having trouble."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "It doesn't happen overnight, Bella." He said. His voice was calm, but he was tense, probably a reaction to my moods, anger, frustration at Edward's denial. Something that might trigger the out-of-control switch in my brain.

"Whose side are you on?" I muttered, half-jokingly.

Jasper flashed a grin at me. "I'm on the side that is arguing the facts. Yes, I know that you and I aren't completely in control of our thirst, and that you could have easily killed him and everybody else in a 5-mile radius of you without thinking. On the other hand, none of us know what you'll be like when you're a normal vampire, without the help of the newborn strength, and we all know it takes decades and decades to fully control ourselves.

Edward smiled slightly. "He's right, Bella. We can't all be perfectly safe, no matter how long we've been living like this, no matter how long we live among humans, pretending to be like them."

"The point is," I pressed on. "It will be safer in the future, and by then, Renesmee will have grown enough to defend herself, right?"

Edward and Jasper exchanged a wary glance. "We don't know about Renesmee. Nobody does." Jasper said slowly. "Nobody's sure what she will or won't be capable of when she's fully grown."

"Except for Nahuel, but are they different?" Edward added shrugging. "We don't know. There's just too much we don't know to be able to know how safe we are from accidents like these in the future."

I sighed, recognizing defeat. "Fine, then. But we'll be careful in the future."

Edward nodded. "Extremely careful."

Jacob spoke again. "Yeah, you'd better be. 'Cause if you're not," he muttered darkly, "You'll end up killing everybody. Or worse."


	13. Chapter 13:: Confidence

Chapter 13- Confidence

"Hey, uh, I'm sure you won't mind if I take Renesmee down to the reservation? She's never been there before…" Jacob offered casually, but I knew him well. I could hear the fear in his voice.

Edward could, too. "Come on, Jacob, nothing like that's going to happen again in the near future. You don't have to drag her miles and miles away every time we're thirsty."

"Naw, I'm just erm, taking her to see stuff. She's never been there before."

Edward snorted. "It's no use to lie, Jacob. I can hear you loud and clear. In fact, you're screaming at me." He covered his ears, grinning at me, pretending to block out the sound of Jacob's thoughts.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Very funny. Oh, come on, there's no harm in taking her."

Edward sighed. "Fine, then. Do you need a car?" He tossed some keys at Jacob.

Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "No, we're going to run, but thank you." He tossed the keys back. Then, he took Renesmee's hand and they walked out the back door.

"Huh." I slouched on the sofa. "You weren't so ready to let me go to Jacob's when I was human." I complained. "What made you change your mind?"

Edward grinned. "Confidence."

"You weren't so confident to let me go." I protested.

"Well, I trust Jacob not to kill Renesmee. He loves her too much." Edward looked a bit annoyed, still, though.

"Well she could still get hurt." I said, tossing his words right back at him from so long ago. "Remember? I broke my hand on one of my visits."

Edward laughed at the memory. "Well, I trust Jacob not to do anything … that Renesmee doesn't want him too." He replied. "And if Jacob did kiss her like that, then she probably wouldn't punch him, either."

"Hmph." I grumped. That was true. In fact, she'd probably hold him tighter. The thought made me a bit scared. I started to stand up, ready to run all the way to the reservation to grab her and drag her back here.

"There's no point, Bella." Alice said from across the room. She looked up from her book. "You can't go onto the reservation. That'd break the treaty."

I dumped myself on the couch again. "Well, that just sucks! What if... what if…."

Edward put his hand on mine, carefully unclenching them. Huh. I didn't notice myself balling them into fists. "Don't worry, Bella. Jacob is only taking her to see his car that he made. And say hi to Billy. Maybe hang out at his house. You have nothing to worry about."

"It doesn't help that Alice can't see them either." My voice was a bit muffled, my jaw clenched tightly.

"Not my fault." Alice huffed. "I can't really see anything these days, with the wolves so close. I can only see if they stay away for a bit." She went back to reading.

"And the wolves that are on the loose?" I said, arguing. "If they run into them, you can't expect Jacob to fight them off by himself."

Edward froze for a second. Then, he relaxed slightly. "Don't worry, Bella. They wouldn't dare to come onto our territory, after last time. Renesmee and Jacob will be perfectly safe."

"How can you be so sure?" I muttered under my breath.

"Confidence." Edward grinned again. He stood up abruptly. "Let's go hunting."

My throat burned in response, but I stayed where I was, gnashing my teeth at the sudden topic closure. "I wish you were this confident with me." I complained.

"I love you too much." He reached down and pulled me to my feet. This time, I didn't fight. "And you were so much more breakable than Renesmee is. Relax, Bella. Jacob won't do anything she doesn't want to." He repeated.

I sighed, but followed him out the back door, allowing my senses to take over, allowing myself to let loose the strength and speed I usually held inside, usually careful not to break anything. It felt wonderful. I could see Edward beside me, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the speed.

By the time I finished drinking the blood out of a couple of deer, I felt kind of sloshy. The burn in my throat was dulled, and I could concentrate on other things instead of my thirst.

But the worry returned. I realized I was basing my worries on my past experiences: Jacob saying that he wished I were dead than be a vampire…Jacob kissing me, and me punching him, causing me to break my hand… Jacob forcing me to kiss him…and Jacob throttling me at my wedding. All bad memories.

Edward came up next to me. "What are you thinking about?" he sighed. "The more time I spend with you, the more infuriating it is, not hearing your thoughts." He sighed again.

I removed my mental shield, allowing Edward to see these scenes replay in my head, which included the pain.

Edward groaned at my stubbornness. "But you're forgetting the good memories you had with him, Bella. Remember when I left," he forced it out. "And Jacob was the one to take care of you?"

"I try not to."

Edward smiled a bit. "He loved you a lot. He never meant to hurt you any of those times."

"Well that's a load of-" my reply was drowned out by a howl.

A wolf's howl. A wolf that was in pain.


	14. Chapter 14:: Attack

Chapter 14- Attack

Edward froze, his eyes growing bigger at an alarmingly fast rate. He didn't move, and I knew he was trying to listen to whatever was going on.

"Dammit." He muttered under his breath, before running toward the noises.

I frowned, following him. I was sure that it had to be Jacob, of any of the wolves, for that matter. And whoever was howling had to be hurt. Strong, fresh fear almost engulfed me. Renesmee. She was supposed to be with Jacob. What if she got hurt? Scared out of my mind, I didn't even bother to say, "I told you so." to Edward's back.

I knew something like this would happen. After weeks of no appearance, they suddenly show up now, of all times, when it's only Renesmee and Jacob. What if we didn't get there in time? What if… they did what they intended, to destroy Renesmee?

In a few seconds, we were there, staring in shock, or at least I was, at what was happening before me.

Jacob, wolf form, was baring his teeth at three opposing wolves. That wasn't surprising. Renesmee was immediately behind Jacob, fear in her eyes. I was sure that it wasn't fear for herself. It was fear for Jacob. Jacob could easily be ripped apart.

Jacob's muzzle was dripping with blood, but he didn't seem to notice. He was glaring resentfully at them, not fearfully, simply eager for their destruction. He was missing fur miscellaneous places all over, and there was blood smeared all over. The howling wolf was Jacob.

Growling erupted all around, claws extended, teeth bared. For the slightest fraction of a second, Jacob looked at Edward and me. The look in his eyes was pleading, almost apologetic. That didn't make any sense; what would Jacob have to apologize for?

Snarling, Edward ran straight for them, confidence still shining in his eyes, mixed with rage and concern, as though he could take them all at once. Maybe he could. I knew not to underestimate him. He had a lot of advantages on his side in fights: mind reading, speed, quick thinking, and experience.

It was almost painful to watch, him fighting with a horse-sized wolf. I stood there, rooted to the spot for a second, using his vampire strength and speed to his advantage, pummeling the big brown wolf. I noticed that he was careful not to use his teeth, not to bite the wolf. He was aiming to defeat, but not to kill. The venom would be like poison to a werewolf.

Jacob joined him a second later, swiping at the leader, the white-ish one, with his massive paws and nipping at him with his enormous teeth. I winced whenever I heard the sound of flesh or fur being torn away.

That left the third one, the scrawny gray one, to me. I balled my hands into fists, moving swiftly towards him, eyes narrowed. His eyes were huge, fearful. He took a step backwards, whimpering softly.

This would be easy. I pounced, landing squarely on his back. With a startled yelp, he rolled on the ground, trying to shake me off. Boy, was he scorching! It was like hugging a giant heater. If I could, I was sure I would be sweating.

Kicking him hard, I jump off, looking for another means of attacking him. He was panting now, even though we had barely started. I rushed at him again. This time, with a low whimper, he turned tail and ran as fast as he could, retreating.

_Coward! _I thought. I would never back down from a challenge, no matter what. Gritting my teeth, I ran after him, jumping when I was a few yards behind him. I grabbed him around the middle and twisted sideways, dumping us both on the ground. Coughing out a whine, he thrashed, struggling to escape my strong grasp.

With him at my mercy, I smacked him with my fists, kicked him, and tore his fur out, until he stopped wriggling and gave up in defeat. I smiled a grimly. No one who threatened my daughter would do so without his share of pain.

I straightened, looking around. Jacob was still snapping at the leader, and Edward was fighting the brown wolf. Jacob seemed to be doing well; the leader's movements were slowing down, and apparently becoming weaker.

Edward was dancing. The wolf was simply too big and clumsy. He whirled around the brown wolf, gracefully ducking his blows and strikes, and when he could, aim a kick at his ribs. One snapped with a sickening _CRACK! _And the wolf doubled over, hissing in pain, before crashing onto the ground.

The wolf at my feet stirred a little. I blinked, remembering that werewolves heal easily. I kicked sharply at his leg, and hearing another crack. I smiled slightly with satisfaction. That ought to take a while to heal, even for a werewolf. He couldn't run.

Edward looked up at me. He nodded with approval, and snapped the brown one's front leg. There was an ear-splitting howl, but he didn't take notice. His gaze flicked back to Jacob.

Jacob was pretty much done. The leader was panting heavily, wheezing through his opened jaws. Large amounts of fur were missing, and what was left was caked in blood. His teeth were still bared at Jacob, who growled in response.

"What should we do now?" I whispered to Edward, taking Renesmee's hand in mine. She had been standing on the sidelines, immobilized with fear. Her eyes darted quickly at me, then at Jacob.

Edward stared coldly at the leader. "Carlisle stated that if something like this should ever happen again, we kill mercilessly. We must honor his wishes."

4


	15. Chapter 15:: Death

Chapter 15- Death

There was a long moment of silence when nobody moved. Edward continued to glare at the leader with cold eyes. I shuddered. Edward really looked like a vampire, when he usually was trying to seem human.

Then, the howling started again. There was wild fear in each of their eyes, although Jacob's face was expressionless. I gritted my teeth. Everybody in a ten-mile radius could probably hear them, including any humans.

Edward growled sharply, cutting them off. "There's no use." He snarled. "You heard Sam. You heard Carlisle. You are once again found on our territory; you pay the consequences. Nobody will come to rescue your sorry little backsides from us."

He turned to look at me. "Don't look." He said, softer now. His face was expressionless as well. He glanced at Renesmee. I nodded, and he turned back to the wolves.

I turned my back to them, and crouched down, next to Renesmee, covering her eyes and her ears before squeezing mine shut as tight as I could, and covering my ears to the best of my ability. I knew I didn't want to hear or see any of this, and I didn't want Renesmee to, either.

There was a low growl, and then, another sickening snapping sound. The howling in pain started up again. Edward didn't have to de-limb them, like a vampire, he only had to break their spines to kill them. At first, it intensified with every crack, but then, they became weaker, softer, before stopping altogether. I dimly wondered who would the one be that had to die first. And which one had to watch their friends, their brothers die, while waiting for their own execution. And Jacob. I wondered if he approved of this. He used to fight side by side with them, and now, he was watching them die, being killed by his love's father. What a screwed up relationship.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was at my ear. "Bella? It's over now."

I didn't respond, standing as still as I could. I couldn't trust myself not to break down in front of Edward, Renesmee, and Jacob.

Finally, I don't know how much time passed, but Renesmee squirmed in my grasp. My eyes flew open in surprise. Oops. I was holding her much too tight than necessary. I took my arms off her, allowing her to run up to Jacob and bury her face in his fur. Jacob hadn't moved at all, either.

I suddenly realized I was holing my breath. It didn't bother me that much, since I didn't need the air, but it still annoyed me a little. I let it out, concentrating on breathing. For probably the first time ever, I was kind of _scared _of Edward. I'd never been scared of him before, not when he admitted that he was a vampire, not when he _showed_ me he was a vampire, not when he killed Victoria. I suppose killing three werewolves scared the crap out of me so much it threw my feelings of fear out of balance.

"Are you okay, Bella? I'm not going to hurt you." Edward's voice was calm and even. As though he did not just killed a few horse-sized wolves. But it was cautious, guarded. As though he was careful not to push me too far, not to let me snap.

I slowly unclenched my teeth and took a deep breath. "I'm okay, Edward. Really. Just a bit freaked out."

Edward breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly. "I didn't scare you?"

"Of course not." I lied.

Edward chuckled. "Even as a vampire, you still stink at lying." Then, he became serious again. "It's fine to be afraid of me. I didn't… I hoped…" he faltered. "I hoped you wouldn't be so young when you saw me like that. You know I've murdered, and you didn't let that bother you. Not even when I killed Victoria. But I didn't want you to see that side of me just yet. Simply to 'Okay, I'm going to kill you now.' And, bam, take their life. It's okay to be afraid of me, love. It's okay."

I stared at him wordlessly. This scared me even more. It was okay to be afraid of him? That was something I didn't hear everyday. Usually, people would say, "Don't be afraid." Weird.

Edward sighed. "I'm sorry, Bella. For scaring you like that. That's why I didn't want you to see. You must think I'm a monster now." He said sadly.

"I'm fine." I said, finding my voice at last. I was glad that it didn't shake. I just want to go home. I took another shaky breath.

Edward nodded. He stood up slowly, pulling us both to our feet. "It's okay." He murmured again. Then, louder, "Jacob. Renesmee." Jacob looked up, his big, sad wolf's eyes looking at me.

"Is Jacob okay?" I whispered to Edward.

Edward sighed. "He's fine. He loves Renesmee more than them. He let me do it without a fight. Without an argument. He wants Renesmee protected. He thinks that's what's important."

Renesmee jumped onto Jacob's back. Jacob nudged her gently into place, and we ran back home. Huh… I wondered why nobody else came to help us. I was sure that they heard the howling, but they didn't come.

Jacob excused himself to phase back into his human form. When we got in, everybody was there. "Edward?" Alice was looking at us, concerned. "Edward, I'm sorry, I didn't see, you know I can't see the wolves…"

Edward shook his head. He looked tired. "It's not your fault, Alice. I know you can't see them."

"What happened?" Esme strode forward, pulling us into a hug. "We heard the howling, but we thought it might just be these guys," –she gestured to Seth, Quil, Leah, and Embry- "but they came back and the howling continued. You two were gone, and Alice said that Jacob took Renesmee out…" her anxious eyes scanned over the four of us.

"Esme," Carlisle said calmly. "They just got back, let them settle down, then they can tell the story."

Edward nodded thankfully. We sat on the couch, retelling everything that happened. It was mostly Edward that told it, because I was still in shock. He held my hand the entire time, and he squeezed it reassuringly when he told about when he killed them. I watched as assorted emotions flashed across everyone's faces. Fear, anger, rage, shock, sadness. Especially with the wolves.

"I'm sorry." Edward said, mainly directed at them. "I didn't have a choice."

"Don't sweat it." Seth patted his back. "They knew what was coming for them. They should have stayed away."

"We should have been there. You shouldn't have gone through that alone." Jasper said, apologetic.

Edward didn't respond, but I knew him well enough to know that if anybody else had been there, he would have broken down just like me.


	16. Chapter 16:: Murder

Chapter 16- Murder

Right after, Carlisle called Sam to tell him what had happened. I was sitting pretty close, so I could hear what he was saying.

"Sam? This is Carlisle." Carlisle's face was expressionless, as well as his voice. I wonder is that's what vampires do when something disturbing happens.

"Carlisle? Umm… is there something wrong? I thought I heard something…" I heard Sam's voice from the other end, a little muffled.

"Sam, they were found in our territory. We had no choice but to destroy them."

There was a moment of silence while Sam processed this. "Oh…I see…"

"What should we do now? Their parents ought to know…"

"I suppose. I'll tell my pack, and I'll call their parents. They knew what would happen. I'll call you back."

Carlisle nodded to himself. "Thank you, Sam. I needed to know what's going to happen now." He sighed heavily as his flipped his phone closed.

Edward groaned. "I can't wait for the parents' reactions." He muttered sarcastically.

"Did you bury the bodies?" Carlisle asked suddenly. Ugh. I knew that if I were still human, I would have thrown up by now.

Edward looked almost like he _was _about to puke, but his voice was still even. "Yes, right after."

Carlisle nodded in approval. "I never thought it would end up like this, but I said, this was what I wanted. I wanted the best for my family." I noticed how he didn't say 'coven'. I think he included Jacob and the wolves, and Renesmee, as well as the vampires.

I glanced up at Edward, who was staring blankly into space. "Edward?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He didn't look at me.

"Are _you _afraid of yourself? Or are you just being brave for me? It's okay to be afraid."

He smiled at me. "I suppose I am." He admitted. "I've never done anything like that before. I don't… feel like myself. I felt like the vampire Edward, not the human Edward I'm usually trying to be, even though I did it for you, and Renesmee, and Jacob, and my family."

"You weren't like this when you destroyed Victoria." I countered.

Edward frowned. "No, I wasn't. But she had done a lot more stuff to you, and I didn't have any of her innocent close friends or family around."

"True." I scowled. "But…" I struggled to think of something else.

"But what? Don't tell me _you're _not scared of me, Bella. I know you are, even without reading your mind." Edward laughed. "And since you've never been afraid of me, why shouldn't I?"

"I've never seen you frightened before." I said at once.

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Never seen me scared? That doesn't necessarily mean I haven't been scared. When I left," –I shivered at the memory, but he ignored it. - "I was terrified. I worried about you everyday. How well you were living without me, or whether you had an emotional break down, like me."

I gave in. "Alright, fine. Tell me, then. Why didn't you just let them go?"

I could tell Edward was getting tired of this subject. He sighed heavily. "I didn't _want _to let them go. I _wanted _them to die. I didn't want them to hurt Renesmee."

"You don't sound so sure."

Edward jumped up suddenly. "Bella!" his hands were balled into fists. "You can be so frustrating sometimes!" he groaned, sitting back down again. "Bella, when you were human, you knew that I could have killed you whenever I wanted. You didn't give that a whole lot of thought, then, but you know that right after I became a vampire, I left. I didn't want to be… vegetarian. I left, and I killed. I was a normal vampire. I came back, because I couldn't take it. I didn't like… murdering." He forced it out. "I've only murdered twice since then, and now, this the worst thing I've ever done since then. Don't you see? I wouldn't have done that if I had any other choice. I love you and Renesmee so much. I wanted them to be gone, rubbed off the face of Earth."

I stared at him after that little speech. Wow. Edward never killed if he could help it, but apparently he couldn't in this case. "I didn't know you loved me _that _much."

Edward snorted. "Where have you been all this time? Living under a rock? You're the only reason of my existence. If I loved you enough that I would go try and kill myself when I thought you were dead, then I'm pretty sure I love you enough to kill a couple of idiot werewolves."

Looking considerably more cheerful now, he took my hand. "Come with me." He whispered, for my ears only.

I glanced at Renesmee, who was sleeping next to Jacob, who was snoring loudly on the couch, and nodded.

He took me upstairs, into his room. Shutting the door quietly, he turned around to find me sitting on the bed. "All of the memories." He sighed, chuckling quietly. "Remember? You agreed to marry me here."

Boy, did I remember. I knew I wanted him forever, but I just didn't want to _marry _anybody at that time. It scared the crap out of me. I was so afraid that Renee would scream and yell when I told her, but thankfully not. It was Charlie that almost had a heart attack when Edward told him.

"And Charlie thought I was pregnant, and he considered shooting you for a minute." I laughed.

Edward grinned, amused. "Yes, he did, in fact. Actually, for a second, he debated whether to shoot me, or to punch me. I think attempting to shoot me would be a much better choice for his health than to try and punch me in the face."

I was about to respond, but I heard someone's phone ring downstairs. It stopped after the first ring, and I knew it must be Sam, calling Carlisle. Edward touched my shoulder.

"Bella." He said urgently, all traces of humor gone now. "Sam told them. The pack. And-and… they're breaking into groups. They're taking sides."


	17. Chapter 17:: War

Chapter 17- War

"Groups?" I asked, surprised. As far as I knew, there were only about eight wolves in the pack now, after Jacob's pack formed, and the rebels separated.

"Most of them are against us, saying we smashed the treaty to bits, but Sam and Jared argue on our side, saying we had no choice and that that was what they would do if they went onto the reservation." He paused. "Sam and Jared are coming over, now, for safety." Edward explained.

I nodded that was understandable. "But what will happen now?" I whispered. "Are we at war with the wolves?"

Edward sighed. "I think so." He confessed. Then, he gasped, "And it's all my fault!"

I smacked him lightly on the arm. "Edward, stop freaking out! I thought we just agreed that you had no choice?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Yes, but-"

I hopped off the bed and tugged him onto his feet, shutting him up. "C'mon, let's go downstairs." Without objecting, Edward allowed me to jerk him out of his room.

The living room was pretty crowed when we walked in. All of the vampires were in there, plus only two of the werewolves and Renesmee, and Sam and Jared were already there. Embry, Quil, and Leah must've been out on a patrol.

"Hello, Sam. Jared." Edward greeted them. I expected them to look bitter, resentful, even at Edward, because they had been driven out of their home. But when they looked up, they looked wary, possibly a bit frightened of him. That was reasonable, I guess, considering the fact that he had just murdered a few werewolves. But if they knew what it did to Edward when he killed, they wouldn't be so afraid of him.

"Hi, Edward." Sam answered smoothly. "You've heard what's happened, right?"

Edward nodded. "I'm sorry… it's all my fault."

"Don't be. Anybody else would have done it; it just happened to be you. No one's angry at you, so you don't need to be feel guilty."

Carlisle smiled comfortingly. "Sam's right, Edward. Listen to Bella and drop it." Then, he turned to Sam. "How many do they have?"

"Six. We have a lot more, but I think their strategy is to take us out one by one." Sam looked worried.

"I was afraid of that." Carlisle sighed. "Who's their leader?"

"Paul." Sam answered. I shivered. Paul was, as far as I knew, the most anti-vampire wolf in the pack. It was Paul who had involuntarily phased into wolf and attacked me when Jacob first took me to meet them, when there were only six wolves in the entire pack.

Carlisle looked worried. "Bella, Jasper, Edward, could you go patrol the border? Leah, Embry, and Quil are already out there, but I want to be careful."

Jasper appeared next to us. "Sure." He beckoned us to follow him, and the three of us headed out the back door.

We jogged at medium-speed, so that we could be able to hear or see anything unusual, and Edward could listen carefully to see if anybody was relatively close to us. I listened intently for any sign of anything out of the ordinary, but there were only the relatively normal forest noises that surrounded us.

I'm not completely sure when, exactly, I realized it, but I knew I heard something unusually big rustling somewhere in the shadows, and I could hear the wet thumping of a heart. The next second, I was sure. I could smell the werewolf from about twenty yards away. I opened my mouth to tell Jasper, but he hissed in a low voice, "I know. Just keep going." I frowned, bewildered, but continued listening to the steady beating of a werewolf's heart come closer and closer. And another heart. And another.

I saw the huge mound of dark gray fur fly out at us, but Edward, reading his mind, spun around, swinging his leg forward, and caught it right in the chest. There was a loud cracking sound and a whimper of pain, and the wolf was on the ground, probably with a couple of broken ribs.

Meanwhile, another one, smaller, but faster, leapt out, claws extended, and landed heavily on Jasper, crashing into the ground. Growling, Jasper kicked fiercely at the wolf's mouth, and there was a low crunch, and his jaw was broken.

Edward and Jasper were both standing up by the time the third one, mouth open, teeth bared, smashed into me, but I was prepared. I grabbed his front leg, twisting it backwards sharply, and threw him down on the ground. With a howl of pain, it skidded about five feet before crashing into the base of a tree.

Edward looked at me, alarmed, but Jasper grabbed the two of us and ran a hundred yards away. "Listen to me." He hissed. "We've got to get to the others. There's a few more in the woods, somewhere. And our little friends won't be down for too long."

Edward nodded. "Jasper, go home, and alert those there. I'll head south and see if I can find the wolves on patrol, and Bella will go the other way."

Jasper nodded in approval. "If you meet some more wolves, just run, and yell, and scream, do whatever you want, just get away and get help." He looked gravely at each of us. "Understood?"

I nodded solemnly and headed north, running as fast as I could. I listened closely, trying to hear any sound of a werewolf. The three wolves that caught us were still probably where we left them, but there were still three more, if there were six total. I gulped, hoping I wouldn't be unlucky enough to come across three wolves at the same time, alone. Suddenly, I felt scared without Edward there, running beside me.

After a while, I heard what I feared: three heartbeats, strong and wet, in the shadows of the trees, and I could hear their heavy panting. I gasped, but my breath caught in my throat. I figured that I probably should have started running then, but I stood, rooted to the spot.

The three figures began moving rapidly towards me.


	18. Chapter 18:: Fear

Chapter 18- Fear

I stood there, paralyzed with fright, my breath automatically coming out in sharp rasps as the three wolves came closer and closer. Finally, I collected my wits, and got ready to run, to fight if I had to.

The one in front stepped into a shaft of sunlight, and I could see the color of his fur: unmistakably chocolate brown. Oh… I could've slapped myself. It was Quil. And Embry and Leah. I sighed with relief. Apparently, I wasn't going to be cornered by werewolves and have my limbs ripped off! That was good news.

"We've already been attacked." I explained to them. "Jasper and Edward and I already come across three, and there still somewhere around here. And the other three have got to be around somewhere." Quil nodded, and nudged my back with his nose, motioning me to lead. This was great. I didn't know where the heck I was supposed to go now.

I ran back from where I came from, following my scent back to where we first met the enemy wolves. They were gone now. Ugh. Now there were six wolves out there, trying to tear us apart one by one. Not a very happy thought. Since nobody was there, I tried to track Edward. He would be the most vulnerable, alone and looking for the wolves I had already found.

I followed his scent, running as fast as I could, because I knew he would be going faster than my usual pace. The wolves kept up easily. It seemed harder to go fast, now that I didn't have so much abnormal strength that I usually used to push myself as fast as I could go, but it was enough. I flew through the forest, and when I finally saw him, he heard us, (or smelled the wolves) and turned around, running straight into me.

"Bella." He breathed, hugging me tightly. "I was so scared of letting you go alone…"

"I'm okay," I mumbled, "I was scared of letting you go alone."

Edward laughed. "Scared? For me? Why would you do that? I can take care of myself, unlike you, whom I was afraid was going to trip over your feet or run into something. I'm surprised that your half of the forest is still standing."

I rolled my eyes. "It didn't occur to you that there are _six _wolves who'd like to kill us all, especially you, running around in the forest?" Oops, I didn't mean to bring that up. "Come on, let's go find Jasper."

We ran straight for home, hoping that they were still there, so we wouldn't have to track them down again. Jasper was leaning against the doorframe, and he sped up to us the second we saw him.

"Edward!" he hissed. "Half of them are gone, now, because they went looking for us. They heard the commotion in the forest and decided to check it out. We're down to only Sam, Jared, Carlisle, Alice, and Jacob! And Renesmee, but I don't think you want her fighting." he added. His numerous crescent-shaped scars were even more visible that usual when he was angry like this.

Edward groaned. "They're separating us. Our main advantage was numbers, but now, we're going to have to rely more on skill."

"We still outnumber them, nearly two to one," Jasper sighed, "but we're going to have to make do with what we've got for now. Let's go." He headed back inside to get the others.

"Edward," I whispered, "What do we do if we get the wolves? How do we _beat _them? We're not going to kill them all, right?"

Edward flinched, but said, "Not if they don't ask for it. They surrender. That's how we beat them."

"How do we do that?" I asked in a small voice. Part of me didn't want to know, but I had to be sure.

"You capture them, have them at your mercy, when you can kill them whenever you want." It was Carlisle who replied. He was standing next to Sam and Jacob, who were in wolf form, and Renesmee was sitting on Jacob's back, as if riding a horse.

Edward looked a little nauseated, but he nodded in agreement. I didn't push him for any more answers.

"Come on, let's go." Carlisle commanded. He ran into the forest, and the rest of us followed. A new, fresh panic bubbled up from inside me. Jacob and Sam would be fighting against their brothers, the ones whom they worked side by side with for a long time. And they were breakable. So much more breakable than vampires. What if one of them died?

And Renesmee. I removed my mental shield for a second, allowing Edward to hear my thoughts. _What about Renesmee? I don't want her anywhere near the fight. _

"Jacob's keeping an eye on her. Don't you trust him to?" Edward assured me.

"He'll be busy if fighting breaks out."

"Then I'm sure everybody else here won't let anything happen to her. That's what we're all here for, remember?" Edward reassured me.

Suddenly, Carlisle froze, staring straight ahead. I could hear the labored breathing of wolves, smell their stink, and see, so clearly, their yellow eyes staring right at us. Five pairs of wolf's eyes, and one more pair of human ones.

"They feel it is their duty to extinguish the life of the killers. They have made too many excuses for us. It's time to do what they exist for." Edward said to no one in particular, his voice ringing out though the trees.

"And we are." I recognized Paul's cold voice sneer back at him.

That's when the fight began.


	19. Chapter 19:: True Victory?

Chapter 19- True victory?

My senses were working more than ever. I could still see everything clearly, smell everything, and hear everything. While fighting at the same time.

They all leapt out at us at the same time, even though they knew they were outnumbered. I could tell most of them were going for Carlisle, Sam, or Edward, but one was intercepted by Jasper, who flung him to the ground easily. Quil joined him, and the three guys were on the ground, in one big kicking-punching match.

I could see Paul and Sam, glaring at each other, growling though their clenched teeth. All of a sudden, Paul launched himself at Sam, swiping at him with his claws. I heard the skin tear, and I smelled the tang of blood as it trickled slowly onto Sam's fur. Snarling, Sam returned the blow by batting at Paul's head, and I hear a dull thud as the blow landed.

A big dark-gray one, one of the wolves we had fought earlier today, landed on Edward. Instantly, I began to see red, but I didn't bother to expand my shield, useless in this kind of attack. I allowed myself to go wild, just inside my control. Balling my hands into fists, I hurled myself at them, careful not to hit Edward, and punched every bit of werewolf I could reach. The sharp teeth and claws had little affect on my skin.

Edward scrambled to his feet, and he danced around the wolf, striking whenever he could do the most damage: in the face, the flank, and the belly. Ah. I was using my sheer strength and brutality to fight, and Edward was using strategy. I managed to break through my rampage and reach over and punch the wolf right in the snout. It broke with a satisfying crunch. I smiled creepily. The last time I had punched a werewolf in the face, I'd broken my hand. To be able to break his nose was oddly refreshing.

At one point, the wolf rolled sideways, probably trying to squash me flat under his massive weight. Edward grabbed my arm and jerked me off just in time for the wolf to roll onto his back, belly side up. Edward took advantage of this, and squashed his fist into his soft middle. The wolf's breath came out in a whoosh, and it lay motionless for a second, winded.

I took advantage of this to take a quick look around me. While fighting, I could still see nearly everything in my peripheral vision, but I needed to see in detail. Sam and Paul were the worst: fur caked in blood, patches of fur missing, miscellaneous scratches. Paul had a deep gash running from his left shoulder blade to his right flank, and Sam was limping slightly, and I noticed he was careful not to put weight on his front right paw.

The rest of them were grouped pretty much in threes, with an enemy wolf fighting with one of our wolves and a vampire. So far, it seemed that we were doing pretty well. Renesmee was in there, to my surprise, fighting alongside Jacob and Alice. It took all of my self-control not to run up there and snatch her away and run, and never stop. I didn't want my daughter to get hurt.

Only a second had passed. The wolf rolled onto his feet again, baring his teeth, slashing at me with his unsheathed claws. I backed up, growling, and Edward jumped forward again, colliding with him with a big bang before smashing into a nearby tree. The tree groaned in protest, and showered us with leaves. The wolf struggled to his feet, hatred twisted in his face, comprehensible even on a wolf's. He wanted to get rid of Edward.

I hefted the shield out of my mind, asking Edward nonverbally what we were going to do now. He glanced at the wolf for half a second, then at me, before jumping straight up into the tree. Confused, the wolf looked up, but I wasn't so easily distracted. I heard the soft leaves rustling above me, and Edward reached down, taking my hands, swung me forward, so that I was able to kick the wolf, which was now looking at me, and smashed my foot right into his nose. I got back onto my feet, and Edward dropped out of the tree, landing next to me. Blood was spurting out of the wolf's nose now, and it got all over his face.

I glanced up at Edward, and he was staring straight ahead. He just stood there for a moment, giving the wolf a moment to breathe, allowing the wolf to attack him. A small smile touched his lips, and I knew that we had already triumphed. Edward was just being the noble one, not inflicting any more pain, not continuing with the fight when it was won.

The wolf, admitting defeat, when it realized that Edward wasn't going to attack him again, sat down, exhausted, panting quick, rapid breaths and licking the blood out of his fur. I looked around again. There were two unconscious wolves, and one was defeated as well, sitting on the ground, while Jasper and Embry glared at him. One more was lying on the ground, cradling a broken front leg to his chest. Finally, I looked over at Sam and Paul.

I suddenly went cold. It had nothing to do with the chill of the night air; I couldn't feel it. Sam and Paul's lifeless bodies were sprawled on the ground, blood still flowing slowly from the wounds they had inflicted on each other. Sam and Paul were dead.

It seemed that everybody else realized this just as I did. Carlisle's eyes practically bulged out of his eye sockets, and Alice uttered a little gasp. The various wolves said nothing, and I suppose they were still in shock.

Jacob was the only one that moved. He padded over, and nosed his old leader with a fondness, a loving. Then, he reached over and touched Paul gently on the chest, where his heart was. There was a great sadness in his eyes, as though he had lived one thousand years of misery, one thousand years of pain. A tennis-ball sized tear rolled down his furry cheek, and he bowed his head to the former leader to the pack, before raising it and howling to the bright, full moon.


	20. Chapter 20:: Home

Chapter 20- Home

"Are you sure, Jacob?" Edward asked quietly. He didn't look eager to see him go; just confirming that Jacob had made the right choice.

Jacob sighed. "I don't have any other options, do I?" But I saw him look longingly at Renesmee.

"You don't have to go, Jacob. It would be perfectly fine if you wanted to stay here." Edward reminded him.

We were on our way home from Sam and Paul's funeral. It was a quiet one, with Emily and Rachel there, both of whom broke down completely. I probably knew how they felt, because Sam imprinted on Emily, and Paul imprinted on Rachel, so it would be just like my relationship with Edward, if not stronger. If Edward died, I definitely would feel like there was no reason to be alive anymore. I did feel traumatized that Sam had died; he was a great leader, and despite the fact that we were natural enemies, I would miss him.

"I kind of have to." Jacob said. "If I don't, who will be the leader? Besides, I'm supposed to be the Alpha. I'll…" he gulped. "I'll be okay without tailing Renesmee 24/7."

"But will Renesmee be okay without you tailing her 24/7?" Edward murmured softly to himself. He kept his eyes on the road, avoiding my gaze. I knew that he was referring to the fact that Edward personally would go nuts if he were away from me for a long time. And I would, too.

Renesmee didn't say anything, but I could tell she was pretty upset by the way she never looked at Jacob once, and kept sighing, her warm breath fogging up the window. I knew that as much as she didn't like it, Renesmee would insist that Jacob go back to La Push to do his duty, to lead the pack.

"I don't even know if they'll be okay with me leading them." Jacob muttered bitterly. "But our numbers are becoming small, and I don't think that anyone has any choice anymore."

Edward grimaced, but his voice was smooth. "You're a great leader, Jacob. It'll be fine." We pulled into the garage, and Jacob sighed as he unbuckled Renesmee and helped her out of the car.

We walked back into the house, and nobody said anything when we walked in. Jacob hesitated at the door, as if unsure if her was supposed to go in or not. "Don't be stupid." Edward said as he pushed him in.

Carlisle looked weary when he looked up as we walked in, as though that fight had aged him 600 years. It didn't show in his physical appearance, only his eyes. He managed a weak smile when we came in. "Jacob, are you all right?"

Jacob nodded. "Yes, just a bit worn out. I just came here to…" he glanced questionably at Edward.

"See if you had anything you left here before you went back to La Push." Edward finished quickly, fighting a smile.

Esme blinked in surprise. "You're going back to La Push?" she seemed genuinely surprised.

"Erm, yes." Jacob said, shuffling his feet. "I need to go back, you know, because, um, I have to lead my pack. But I'll be back everyday to see Renesmee, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Jacob. You're always welcome here." Carlisle said.

"Thank you." He breathed, relieved. He turned to Edward. "Uh, I don't have _any _belongings at all, so I suppose I'll be going now." Although the words were said, he looked wistfully at Renesmee.

Renesmee looked sadly at him with her chocolate-brown eyes. "I'll miss you." She sniffled. "No matter what. Even if you visit everyday, that won't be enough."

Jacob bent down and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Don't worry." He said into her hair. "I'll always be thinking of you, no matter what. I'll come help you sleep every night if you want me to."

I smiled a bit at that. It reminded me of what Edward had said once. _I'll sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away. _Jacob and Edward were so much more alike than I thought, whether I liked it or not.

"It's okay, Jacob." Renesmee sighed. "You need to sleep yourself. You're not a vampire."

Jacob grimaced for a second, and Edward chuckled to himself. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know what Jacob was thinking. As much as he despised vampires in every way possible- even our smell, he would give anything to give Renesmee what she wanted.

"No, I'm not, but I don't need sleep that much. I'll see you every night." He promised.

"Oh, no, Jacob, don't do that. You don't need to be… inconvenienced. Not for me." Renesmee said, but I knew that that was what she wanted him to do.

Jacob hugged her again, and kissed her on the cheek. "Everything I do is for you. Don't worry." He stoked her cheek gently before standing up. "Let's go."

Edward nodded, and led the way to the garage, the warm rays of morning sunlight causing him to sparkle subtly. Jacob still seemed a bit reluctant to leave Renesmee behind, but he followed after him.

Jacob was quiet the entire way there. I supposed that he was a bit afraid of going back to the pack, after being away for a year. But he had no other option. The others were already living back in La Push again. I looked out the window at the clear blue sky as each of the stars from the night earlier vanished, one by one. It seemed unfair, that whenever the sun rose, the stars had to leave, and the sun had to set before the stars could come back into place.

Edward parked right at the border, getting out of the car when Jacob did. "I'm sorry what this has done to you, Jacob." He murmured. "Especially what it has cost you. Thank you for your dedication in helping Renesmee, in helping us."

Jacob smiled. "It's my duty, I suppose. I love her, and I'm glad to be protecting her, and helping you. Thank you, Edward, for letting me love her like this." He and Edward hugged briefly, neither of them bothered by Jacob's hot skin or Edward's cold touch, and Jacob ran back across the border, back towards home.

"Let's go home." Edward whispered into my ear, hugging me tightly.

"Of course." I agreed, and I hugged him back, this time using all my strength, and Edward didn't even say 'ow'.


	21. Epilouge

Epilogue

It wasn't long after before Carlisle announced that we had to move. If we stayed in one place too long, the humans would get suspicious of why we weren't getting old. Alice insisted that we pack everything we owned, so naturally, it was taking days. Edward and I found ourselves, for the fourth day in a row, shoving the contents of our closet into suitcases.

"And you do this every five or so years?" I asked, curious.

Edward sighed. "Yes, it does get a little tedious, I'm afraid, but it's necessary. It gets a bit boring if you stay in one place for a long time, though. We might come back to Forks in fifty years, maybe, when most of the humans already here are gone."

"What about the friends you make?" I asked, thinking about Mike and Angela and all of the other human friends I had. And Jacob. What would he do? He couldn't possibly stay away from Renesmee when we move; their relationship was too strong.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Bella, we've never made any human friends, not until you came along. And you were so different from everybody else that you probably don't count as human." He joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, but what about me? When I was human, I had human friends."

"That's true." Edward agreed. "I suppose you can't see them again, but you can still keep in touch, by e-mail or something."

I frowned. "And Charlie? He'll freak out if I don't see him every few years, but will he freak out more if I'm still 18 every time he sees me?"

Edward sighed again. "I'm not sure. Each time any of us became a vampire, everybody thought we were dead." He said sadly. "We would either have to fake your death, never see him again, or let him see you, but I'm not sure what his reaction would be." He shrugged. "He took Renesmee's growth pretty well."

"Hm." I didn't want to think about Charlie just yet. But it was hard to not think of something when you've got so much space in your head to think. "And Jacob? What about Jacob and Renesmee?"

"I don't know. As I said, this has never happened to us before. I hate doing this to him, but it's up to Jacob whether he comes with us or stays with the pack. Knowing him, I think he'll come with us, so he can take care of Renesmee." Edward looked troubled. "But when Renesmee reaches her stopping point, when she stops growing, it'll be up to her whether she wants to stay with us or go with Jacob wherever they want to go."

I didn't want to imagine Renesmee leaving us. She was only a year old, but she was plenty mature and looked like a nine-year-old. She still had six years before she stopped growing, and as a vampire, that wouldn't seem like a lot of time, so I was worried, too. I wanted to spend as much time being a mother as I could, because she was _my _baby. No other vampire in the history of the world had ever been a mother to a half-human. I was dreading the day Renesmee would look about my age, about 17 or 18, when people assumed I was her sister, when we had to_ pretend _she was my sister.

I groaned quietly, closing my eyes. This was not good. I knew being a vampire had its flaws, but I guess I wasn't prepared for something like this. "Bella? Are you alright?" Edward asked, right into my ear, even though I probably could have heard it if he were still halfway across the room.

"No." I moaned.

Edward chuckled, and wrapped his arms around me. "Do you want me to make you feel better? Being a vampire isn't that bad. And you said you wanted to, and you knew what the cost was."

I opened one eye. "I thought you couldn't read my mind?" I accused. "Therefore, you wouldn't know why I'm so miserable."

"I can't read your mind. I just know you too well." He grinned at me.

I sighed. I was the one person that Edward couldn't hear the thoughts of, and he could read my face as easily as he could hear anybody else's thoughts. That was so not fair. "It's kind of overwhelming. Leaving everybody I know without saying goodbye, not knowing whether my daughter will choose her parents over her love, I don't think I can handle it for very long."

Edward kissed my hair. "Don't worry about it. The first move is the hardest. That much is normal. Look at the upside. You didn't have to pretend that you were dead, and watch your friends talk about how much they miss you, because you died, when you can't come in contact with them ever again."

I glared at him. "Is that better than abandoning Charlie, when he knows I'm alive? Well, not really, but I look alive? And I'm alive to Charlie?"

"Again, we're not sure. This has never happened before. Nobody's ever been changed when they knew what to expect. I think it would be easier on all of us if we just let Charlie see you every few years, and maybe explain that we never age. Unless you want to play dead?" He looked at me expectantly.

I started hyperventilating. "Which one would be better?"

Edward stared intently at me. "Playing dead or abandoning everybody would be better for vampire secrecy, but worse for all of the humans." He said slowly. "Letting Charlie see you every now and then would be better for him, but it might be a bit risky for us…"

This was exactly what I was afraid of. Having to choose between the humans and the vampires. My past family or my present family? I groaned again, leaning against his shoulder for support. "Edward, I think it's impossible for me to choose right now."

Edward hugged me sympathetically. "It doesn't matter to me which one you choose." He breathed in my ear. "You don't have to choose right now."

"Really?" Great, I could procrastinate.

"Really. Whatever you want, I'll be there to support you." He hugged me close.

This was something I could live with. This was exactly what I wanted when I planed on becoming a vampire. I didn't have to worry about anything, and I had my Edward right there, all the time.


End file.
